Today is special because Google opened the Explorer program to any U.S. consumer interested in purchasing Glass and helping pioneer the field of smart lens technology. That means consumers are having to weigh that early adopter opportunity against the reality of dropping $1,500 for a 1.0 product that will soon be outdated.

We spent time with KARE 11 talking about how Glass works, the impact of real-time content publishing, Weber Shandwick’s wpForGlass, some of the open and honest drawbacks about this version (e.g., battery life, fashion), the awesome features of the device today (real-time translation!), and yes, Glassholes.

You are of the mindset that today’s latest technology outpaces itself regularly.

You aren’t afraid to laugh at yourself months/years/decades from now about wearing this silly thing on your face.

You will be an open and honest advocate, taking care to explain how Glass works to strangers but never shying from your convictions about important things like privacy, fashion and utility.

You want to be part of driving what’s next and driving value for emerging technologies — truly being part of creating something that could impact our society.

Otherwise, don’t. This is still the first, developer version of Glass, and it isn’t a technology that is ready for general consumers. That could come down the line, but only if the right people invest in developing enough utility and use cases that truly add value to consumers (drive down the cost, improve the hardware, increase the number of apps, etc).